UPdates

It's been a long time since I've updated on the kids.

For those who are not aware, we have #3 on the way, due January 1st. So far this is the easiest pregnancy, and I can say that now that I'm not in the first trimester anymore. I always get so tired and have no energy. But now things are mostly back to normal and I'm feeling good. Quite often I forget I'm even pregnant. Then I have that momentary panicky feeling when I finally remember! But mostly I just get excited. It'll be strange to have a winter baby. Both Kaylee and Hudson were born in early August.

So yes, we just celebrated their birthdays. Grandma L came out for that, and it was sooooooooooo nice to have her here. I will make another post for that and have pictures galore. For this post I just want to share a few things about the kids' development.

Kaylee is now 4 and is very proud of it. She has her big girl booster seat (which is SOOOO nice because it's easy to move around when needed). She is fully potty trained and has been for about a year now I guess. She knows all her letters, their sounds, colors, shapes, and has been known to count to 100 a few times (with a little help). She is very excited to start preschool in a few weeks. Personality wise, she is much less shy than as a baby. She is rambunctious and very athletic. She loves pretend play. I like to sit and listen to her playing with her toys and the conversations she makes them have. She also has my Praise Baby CD pretty much memorized. She has her favorite songs on there and I love to hear her sing praise songs! Today she started singing "Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord". She said "...to see you high and lifted up, shining in the light of your BORING" (ha ha ha!!)

Hudson has changed so much, so fast! His vocabulary has increased quite a bit and now says some short sentences. He is learning his lower case letters and colors right now, and I hope he's listening as I go over letter sounds with Kaylee. He often says the abc's while he's playing, for no apparent reason. Grandma discovered he can count, at least to 5, but I heard him count up to 20 once...although taken out of context I never could've known what he was saying once he got to 11! When Kaylee is in preschool this fall I plan to spend a lot of one on one time with him. I feel like I've neglected him in that way a lot. He seems to be very intelligent, but apparently them kids don't teach themselves :)

One interesting thing I've noticed about him is that he sees abstract things in objects. That's the best way I know how to say it. For example, he sees an open clam shell and says "butterfly", he bites into chips and says "sailboat", he eats into a sandwich and says "U". He does this all the time with lots of different objects. I wonder if that indicates any specific type of learning style...

I plan to continue with letters, colors and shapes, as well as potty training this year. At some point we're gonna have to break him of his pacifier addiction as well. He is also very attached to his blankie. He carries it everywhere, drags it through everything, and loves to find the corners and play with those in his hands. But I don't think we need to break him of a blankie habit. It's just those pacifiers that I hear can cause issues with their teeth.

The kids say and do the cutest and funniest stuff everyday. I need to keep a pen and paper with me at all times cuz it's so hard to remember it all. Just now Kaylee says to Hudson, "You're kinda crazy, kid." He says "Why?"... "Cuz you are!"